Amani/Metcalfe Park is cut by roads and railroads into triangles, squares, and a variety of other shapes. Whether the result seems symmetrical or splintered depends on your point of view, but splintering is more apparent at ground level. Vacant lots abound within the district's borders, and its housing stock includes too many board-ups on the verge of becoming tear-downs. Age, poverty, and their attendant problems have given Amani/Metcalfe Park a reputation as one of the most careworn sections of the central city. Many residents consider that reputation an undeserved affront, and they point to energetic efforts to improve conditions.